


Solstice & Alarm Clocks

by sincline



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Gen, I really hope you like it, but it is a bit angsty, it's more Tony and Pete working together than whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-27 21:47:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17170001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sincline/pseuds/sincline
Summary: Peter has an incident with the time stone, and gets stuck, but it's not your normal kind of "stuck" if you're stuck in time. Nevertheless, he has help.





	Solstice & Alarm Clocks

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, thanks to the mods for hosting this. I was quite literally swinging between fics, because I had several ideas, but I went with this because the others were getting too long and I'd never be able to complete them.
> 
> More thanks to the mods for the extension.
> 
> This isn't beta read, but I've gone through it the best I could. I'll edit out any typos later.

**o n e.**

 

Peter's eyes fly open, because he’s awake already, and it’s better to just get up and get ready today. For once save Aunt May the trouble of dragging his ass out of bed. The alarm goes off a second later.

 

 _Beep! Beep! Beep!_ The clock says it's six a.m.

 

The harsh voice cuts through his stale bedroom air and Peter has already opened the window, gotten in a few fresh mouthfuls, shut the alarm down and opened the door to his room with a bang. He sees Aunt May startle in the kitchen. Peter marches over to the bathroom almost forcefully, dragging every step he takes there.

 

“Morning!” Aunt May calls from the kitchen. Peter only waves back.

 

The shower is warm and almost lulling, as if trying to get him sleepy. He'd do cold, usually, but not now, in the bleeding middle of December. The other kids are doing holiday shopping. Peter is getting ready to go to school. Well, not exactly school. The Young Avengers Training Centre for Enhanced Individuals accepts people who are Avengers material. That's what Peter likes to call himself. He's Avengers material, not an “enhanced individual”, which makes him sound like some kind of freak.

 

Technically, he's an Avenger already. Has been for a little more than a year. Since Tony Stark himself made him one.

 

Oh, sorry, that wasn't official!

 

That's what the woman had said when he and Aunt May had visited it first. She hadn't even budged when Peter had Karen play the footage for them. Fuck her.

 

What he'd been surprised by was Aunt May. Aunt May had herself taken him to the HQ.

 

“You're not going to stop,” she'd said. “I'd rather you be safe and with proper training.”

 

He hadn't wanted to go, really. Not after complete radio silence from Mr Stark after he got back. Peter hums a tune absently while rubbing shampoo in his hair. He hasn't seen Mr Stark since the time he met Peter right after saving half the universe. Peter supposes he's crossed a line by calling him 'dad’ and snotting all over his t-shirt, and that's why Mr Stark’s been avoiding him.

 

He was right to, Peter muses. Who'd want a deadbeat kid like him as their son. He is enough burden on Aunt May as it is.

 

He hears a knock on the bathroom door.

 

“Peter? You're gonna get late! Come on out!”

 

Aunt May sounds happy enough. Peter is just glad that the rewritten Accords provide safety to family. And that’s all that matters now.

 

May has made his favorite pancakes with extra syrup for breakfast. She smiles at him and kisses his forehead. He knows why. She's been paying so much extra attention to to him ever since he got back.

 

“Aunt May,” he asks a little queasily, “I don't wanna-”

 

He chokes on air. “I can't- Can I not go, please?” He manages. She looks at him imploringly.

 

“Peter,” she says, softly but firmly. “If you're going to run around saving New York City, you're going to training. It's either that, or you hand me your suit. I won't have you fighting without training.”

 

“I was doing fine before,” he protests. She sighs and turns. It was a few moments before he realizes her eyes are glossy.

 

“Aunt May, don't cry!” Peter panics. He puts an arm around her comfortingly.

 

“Here's the thing Peter- I don't know if I'm doing this right. I've never raised a kid from the start, and when Mary and Rich dropped you with us, I had Ben, and now he's gone, and I don't- I don't know what to do! I never know if I'm being too harsh or too soft, I just don't-” a tear runs down her cheeks and she wipes away at it furiously. Peter holds her by the shoulders.

 

“Aunt May,” he says. “You're doing this 100% right. I'll go. I'll learn and train and stuff.”

 

She takes his hand, and after a silent moment says, “I haven't accidentally emotionally blackmailed you, have I?”

 

Peter laughs. “Gods, no,” he says. “I was just being a pussy and I know I need to do this.”

 

Aunt May smiles weakly. Then she throws the clock a glance and her eyes widened.

 

“Uh oh, we're late!”

 

*

They aren't late. In fact, they're the first ones there. That, or everyone else is horribly late. Aunt May looks around at the cold, empty atrium of the building until a voice cuts in.

 

“I'm so sorry!” The receptionist trills. “I'm late! I hope I didn't cause you any inconvenience!”

 

“We just got here,” Aunt May says, shaking her head. Peter almost snorts.

 

“I'll give Peter his orientation tour,” she says. “There's a waiting area for parents if you'd like to stay.”

 

“Oh, no. I'll pick Peter up after my shift, or I could call in sick?” She's looking at Peter questioningly. Peter has no doubt he has the best Aunt in the world.

 

“I'll manage, Aunt May. You go get your shift,” he says. She gives him a goodbye kiss on the cheek before leaving.

 

“Right, then, let's begin!”

 

*

 

A few more kids come in after Peter. Mostly just smart kids, but there's a couple that look actually enhanced, like the guy whose hands randomly burst into flames, and a girl called Jennifer who identified herself as Bruce Banner's cousin. Oh and the princess of Wakanda, who Peter thinks is here to actually teach them stuff. Peter starts to feel pretty much like a loser.

 

Suddenly, whispers break into the group, and Peter looks up to see Captain Marvel and Tony Stark himself walking outside the room they're gathered in, discussing something rather animatedly. They pass without paying their room any glance. The building seems bustling with activity now.

 

“I've got your schedules!” The primpy receptionist says, and starts to call out names and handing them out. When Peter receives his, he realizes it's personalized and he's to go to the centre's gym for physical. On his way, he passes the labs where a few kids are looking around.

 

Peter's most looking forward to them, because he had a few ideas for the web fluid and he wants to build his own suit. He also figures Mr Stark will be there and he wants to apologise to him for whatever made him cut all contacts with Peter.

 

A shield agent is waiting for him and two more kids. One he doesn't know, and Jennifer, he remembers, Bruce Banner's cousin. She looks a bit older than him.

 

They get started on basics right away, except it's just stretching and after an hour at it, Peter feels depleted and needs to piss so bad he's afraid if he moves a muscle, his bladder will take control of his brain and have its way. He asks to be excused, and all but runs to the bathroom. He zips up when he's done and turns around, only to bump into Doctor Strange, who drops something he's holding.

 

“Hey Dr Strange,” he says, bending down and picks up Stephen's amulet, which glows and eerie green. Stephen gasps.

 

“You're not supposed to touch that!” He says.

 

“What? Why?” Peter says, but he feels dizzy already. Stephen goes out of focus as Peter's knees give out and his vision goes black.

_

 

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

 

Peter scrambles so hard he falls off the bed. The clock shows six a.m.

 

“What the-”

 

His room is exactly the way it was in the morning. Was that a dream? But it felt so real. Peter shakes his head and opens his window, then rushes outside.

 

“Morning!” Aunt May calls from the kitchen. Peter frowns. What the fuck? He goes to the kitchen. Pancakes for breakfast. With extra syrup.

 

“What's the date?” He asks.

 

“December 21,” she answers. “Won't you get dressed?”

 

He does, not bothering to have a bath. It's the same date as the one before he woke up. He agrees to go to the training institute, not wanting to make Aunt May cry this time. The preppy receptionist is there. And Peter's early this time as well.

 

“I'll give Peter his orientation tour. There's a waiting area for parents if you'd like to stay.”

 

A nasty look takes over Peter's face. Are they pranking him?

 

“Oh, no. I'll pick Peter up after my shift, or I could call in sick?”

 

“I'll be fine,” Peter manages. And there's the receptionist again, with the same orientation tour lines as before. He asks her a few different questions, getting a little variation from last time. Maybe it was just a weird dream.

 

*

 

This time he listens to the kids. The guy with the burning hands says he had an accident and got the Extremis virus, whatever that is. And that Jennifer Walters needed a blood transfusion and Bruce was the only one who could donate at the time. So she could go green.

 

The Extremis guy has quite an audience and Peter can tell he was gonna be That Kid.

 

“I helped Tony once,” he says, and Peter's eyes and ears both snap up to him. Then he remembers he was the same guy Mr Stark was working with earlier. In his… dream.

 

“His suit was damaged and I let him use my garage. I was actually kind of surprised when he called me after the. You know, dust turning.”

 

So he’s Mr Stark's new mentee. Peter squares his shoulders stuffs his hands in his pockets. He goes to training, feeling a pinch in his gut that reminds him to piss. Which he then does, before class. They do stretches, just like from Peter's dream, but this time he doesn't need to piss, so he gets to the end of the session.

 

“Where are you headed next?” Jennifer asks him.

 

“Lab 3,” Peter answers, checking his schedule.

 

“Cool, I'm supposed to meet Uncle Bruce in Lab 2. We can go there together.”

 

In Lab 3, a bunch of kids are gathered around a table with Mr Stark at the centre. Peter drops his bag on the floor.

 

“-teach you some basic tech stuff, you know in case you need it anywhere. Now this is stuff that actually works. No textbook. All practice,” he says. The kids nod appreciatively.

 

“Now go to your tables and I'll come by and tell you everything you don't know. We gotta get on the same level before we start group sessions,” he says, and the kids scattered. Peter glances at the digital clock. Almost twelve. The room was too bright. And blurry. And there were two tables in front of him instead of one.

 

“Mr Stark-”

 

He only catches Tony's horrified look as he falls forward in his arms.

 

_

 

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

 

The clock reads six.

 

“What the fuck!” Peter yells, once again falling out of bed. The second hand isn't moving, but the voice is loud and clear. He smashes the clock on the bedside desk to shut it up and runs out of his room. His aunt is making pancakes and there's a huge bottle of syrup on the table.

 

“Morning!” She calls cheerfully. Peter makes a face.

 

“Is it December 21st?” He asks.

 

“Yeah,” Aunt May replies, hip bumping him. “We're going to the Avengers centre today!”

 

“No…,” Peter sinks to the floor. Worry clouds Aunt May's face immediately.

 

“Peter what's wrong?” She says, her cheery tone gone.

 

“No- um. Nothing. I'll get changed.”

 

The ball of uncomfort that has settled into Peter's stomach doesn't leave all the way to the ride to the centre. Looks like he has to piss _and_ shit once he got there now. The ball of uncomfort made his intestinal muscles active.

 

But he did make sure they weren't too early and the receptionist was there.

 

“How ma-”

 

“Yeah, hello, this is my Aunt, she'll pick me up later, could we get on with the orientation, please?” He asks as politely as he can. She smiles awkwardly.

 

“I'll have someone take you immediately,” she says, then waved over a cheery looking woman. That was different. Maybe the other two were hallucinations/dreams and this was the real deal, because this was a variation. She started the same way the receptionist had, and Peter basically knew everything by heart now.

 

“The bathroom, please,” he asks faintly.

 

*

Peter has a theory about this. A absolutely crazy theory that has no root. He's pretty sure he's stuck in a six hour time loop. It starts, obviously, at six a.m., and ends at around twelve. He's just going to get the duration right this time and just make sure he's really in a time loop and not hallucinating.

 

So he goes around the day like he has twice already. Although he's getting tired of the exercise. He goes straight to the restroom after, and wastes a few minutes, keeping a careful eye on his watch. At 12:46, he blacks out.

 

_

 

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

 

Peter's about to beat the crap out of this alarm for real. He knows it won't work: it will just turn up in the next loop untouched. But it does confirm his theory: he's stuck in a time loop. The question is why. He retraces his steps on the first day, groggily turning over in his bed.

 

So definitely, it happened towards the end and then he remembers Dr Strange and bumping into him and his crazy green locket. And then it hits him. Stephen definitely keeps the time stone in his locket. So it is, in fact, a time loop, and he's stuck here. Peter wonders how many other people the stone has trapped, and for how long, and shudders.

 

And then Aunt May is banging on his door.

 

“Peter! Time to get up!” She yells. “Or we're gonna be late!”

 

Peter drags himself out with a groan and there it is: pancakes doused in syrup. Just the way he loves it. Doesn't take him long to gobble it up. He does the same thing he did last time, and doesn't waste time with the orientation lady.

 

“Is Dr Strange here? There's been an emergency, I need to talk to him,” he says. The lady's smile turned into a confused expression.

 

“Dr Strange? He's not scheduled for any sessions today, but he has a yoga thing planned tomorrow. With all the kids,” she offers.

 

“I can't do tomorrow,” Peter mutters to himself. “I can't even do afternoon-,” then to the lady, “Do you have any way I can contact him? This is a huge emergency.”

 

“Are you okay?” She looks worried. Great. “Look, it's okay to be confused-”

 

“It's not like that,” Peter interrupts. “I just _really_ need to talk to him. Are you sure you can't contact him?”

 

“I can't do that I'm afraid. I don't have, um-,” she blushes, “-his number.”

 

“Okay,” Peter says. “I know my way around, so I'll just go down to the main room.”

 

“Do you-”

 

“Yeah, I'll manage,” Peter waves her off.

 

So change of plans. He had had a feeling he wouldn't be able to contact Stephen. He'd once said that the infinity stones we're souls of their own. That they could control themselves and their respective fields. And Peter doesn't know anything about them. Which basically left one option: Mr Stark. In a situation like this, no one else would believe him, or help him. And also he didn't know anyone else when was accustomed to this sort of thing.

 

So he goes to class: he would see Tony later in the day and they could talk in the lab if Peter rushed. So he collects his schedule in a hurry and goes to fight class again and asks to be excused towards the end, and instead of going to the restroom, goes straight to Lab 3, where Tony’s still working on the fabric thing with the boy. Peter knocks on the door but it slides open before his fist hit the door.

 

“Welcome Peter,” Friday says cheerfully. Tony looks up and then looks back at whatever they’re working on.

 

“Here for class?” Friday asks.

 

“Um, not exactly,” Peter answers. “Mr Stark?”

 

“Peter,” he says without looking up. The fiery hands guy looks at him.

 

“Who're you?” He asks, jumping up on the table and swinging his legs.

 

“Peter Parker. Mr Stark, can I talk to you for a sec?” He asks.

 

“I'm Harley,” the guy jumps down and offered him a hand. Peter shakes it firmly, forcing a smile.

 

“Nice to meet you Harley, Mr Stark?” Peter asks again impatiently. Tony looks up.

 

“Peter. Is something wrong?” Tony asks. He looks up but doesn't quite meet Peter's eyes.

 

“Yes,” Peter replies, relieved. At least now he'll listen to him.

 

“Shoot,” Tony says, taking out a blowtorch and starting it. Peter looks uncomfortably at Harley. Tony's new mentee. Peter doesn't want to say it bothers him, but it does. It makes him feel like the bad kid. He shakes the thought off. Not the time for this.

 

“Can we talk outside?” Peter asks through grit teeth, looking at his watch. 12:44. Shit, he doesn't have a lot of time. Tony looks up and notices Peter's uncomfortable expression.

 

“Oh, you can talk with me here,” Harley says. “I don't blab.”

 

“I'd really rather not,” Peter states.

 

“Harley,” Tony says with a surprisingly soft voice. “Why don't see if they're giving out hot chocolate?”

 

“But-” he starts to interrupt, but catches Tony's expression. “Okay,” he says before leaving defeatedly.

 

“Mr Stark, so I got stu-”

 

But his time's up, and his vision goes black.

 

___

 **t w o.**  
  


_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

 

Peter sits up in bed and takes the alarm in his hands. It looks a bit busted from when he smashed it on his desk, but Peter doesn't care. He cannot wait to get rid of it. So chucks it at the wall, and it continues with its annoying beeping undeterred. Peter groans as he drags his ass, for the fifth damn time, out of bed and into clean clothes. Has the same breakfast: pancakes with syrup. He feels sick.

 

“I don't want syrup on them,” he says, but the syrup is poured and the pancakes are always made before six a.m., so Peter can't alter the syrup thing. Still, he's glad he wakes up at home and had something keeping him alive in this hellish loop. He's still bummed that he _got there_ and that Harley boy wasted his time and he's gonna have to do that again. He's got a plan, though this time.

 

He sees Mr Stark thrice in total: first time when he walks with Colonel Danvers outside the main room, second when he's walking towards the gym and passes Lab 3, and third right before his time ends. So since the last plan didn't work, he'll go for the time before gym, because Colonel Danvers is a very important lady and Peter doesn't want to disturb her. He knows it won't matter with the time loop, but still.

 

So this time, as soon as he gets his schedule, he dashes outside so he can corner Tony before Harley does. Sure enough, he's waiting in the lab with his back to the door. He turns when he hears Peter come in.

 

“Harley, loo- oh. Peter. Hi,” he says, a bit awkwardly. “Here for class?”

 

“No,” Peter says, crossing his arms. “I'm here to talk.”

 

“Shouldn't you be in class?” He asks, just as Harley comes in.

 

“This is important Mr Stark,” Peter says. “Please, this is an emergency-”

 

“Hey,” Harley says. “I didn't know we were working with someone, Tony.”

 

They're on first name terms, and Peter feels a pang of jealousy. He still, stupidly enough, calls Tony Mr Stark. Even though he did die in his arms.

 

“I... didn't know that either,” Tony says.

 

“Good thing I'm not here to work then,” Peter says flatly. Then lower, “Mr Stark can we talk outside for a sec?”

 

“If this is about-”

 

“I swear it's not,” Peter says shaking his head quickly. “I'm not here about- um. You know. There's been a problem.”

 

Tony sighs. “Harley, go get us hot chocolates.”

 

“But I just got here,” he groans.

 

“Harley.”

 

“Ugh, fine!” He says, the leaves the room grumbling. Tony turns back to Peter with a raised eyebrow.

 

“Shoot.”

 

“I am... kind of stuck in a time loop,” he says, watching Tony's reaction. Before Tony can speak, he continues. “I swear I'm not making this up, and that this isn't a lie. The first time I woke up on December twenty first, I ran into Dr Strange and had an, um. Incident. With the time stone, I think.”

 

“Hey, champ, calm down,” Tony says, reaching out and paying Peter's shoulder. “I don't think you're lying. Slow down, take it from the top.”

 

Peter lets out a breath of relief before beginning.

 

*

 

Tony listens quietly, only talking to ask for a few details here and there. When Peter's done, he leans back in his chair, looking thoughtful.

 

“Bruce and I did study some aspects of the time stone and time loops was one of them,” he says carefully. “Stephen says that's how he saved the day once. You know, dimensional threats.”

 

“I… don't, actually,” Peter says sheepishly. There's a short pause before Tony bursts out laughing and Peter can't help but smile in return.

 

*

Peter realizes he's bunked the morning class when Tony leaves the lab to retrieve some files from his office. He's sweating about it when Harley walks back in.

 

“That took long, huh?” He says, grabbing his backpack and pulling out the fabric he was working on.

 

“What's that?” Peter asks, eyeing it. Harley studies his face for a moment, but goes with the subject change.

 

“Didn't know you answered questions with other, unrelated questions, but I have the Extremis virus in me. Ya know, burst into flames? I need a suit that won't burn on my body and leave me butt naked every time I use my powers,” he says.

 

“Oh,” is all Peter can say.

 

“Crack a smile bro,” he says, moving to get something and patting Peter's shoulder. “You look like you've seen a ghost.”

 

And then they wait alone for about an hour while Harley works and Peter watches him before Tony's back.

 

“Peter,” he says, peeking out the door. “Come on.”

 

He leads Peter to the seventh floor, in an office that's presumably his. A huge binder sits on the desk.

 

“So I did a bit of light reading and you are, in fact, in a time loop,” Tony says. “I'm probably worried sick about you in real time, because you've been gone for a day and a half at least.”

 

“You are?” Peter asks. He never thought of it that way. Tony gives him a wary look, then sighs.

 

“Yeah kid. I am. I worry about you a lot.”

 

“Doesn't seem like it,” Peter mumbles. Tony slumps in his chair.

 

“I- I ignored you,” he says softly, “to protect you.”

 

“Every time I was around you, something bad happened. And I took your suit because I wanted you to have a normal life. It's never good to start worrying about things bigger than you.”

 

“But you did the same thing!” Peter protests.

 

“Yes, and look where it got me,” he says flatly.

 

“Where did it get you?” Peter shoots back heatedly. “What's so bad that-”

 

“Enough!” He snaps. “You don't know half of what's so bad. Now look through these, see if you find anything on time loops.”

 

A sheaf of papers from the binder is slammed down on the table. Tony takes the binder towards him, leafing through the remaining pages.

 

“Bruce has an entire section down on time loops,” Tony says, and Peter thinks he's done for. Now Tony won't talk to him.

 

“Here,” he says after a few moments. “There's got to be an object which causes the loop. Something that's around you all the time, maybe?”

 

“But how does that connect to the time stone?” Peter asks, standing up and walking over to the other side of the desk.

 

“Well, it's got nothing to do with it, really, it's just a medium for the time stone to control it. Like a middleman. And when the middleman's gone-”

 

Peter smiles, “Voila.”

 

_

 

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

 

Tony had said to him that it could be the most silly thing, but something that came into his contact everyday. He gets up and goes to his desk, dropping the alarm on the floor. The glass is cracked and it's still got that gash on the stop button from when Peter smashed it against the desk. The glass must have cracked from when he cucked it on the wall. Peter figures he'll buy a new one from his allowance.

 

He opens his drawer and takes out his journal. Is it the time horcrux? Is he going to have to go Harry Potter on this bitch? Peter hopes not, because it cost four dollars more than the regular journals, and it would be sad to let that go. He shoves it back in the drawer. He looks at his watch, the one Uncle Ben gave him a couple years ago when it hits him. And then it hits him.

 

The alarm. The bloody alarm shouldn't have all the evidence that Peter abused it, because of the time loop. And since it does, it exists outside of the loop, like Peter. He grins at himself.

 

“You're a damn _genius,_ Parker,” he says to himself, running out of the room.

 

“Aunt May, where's Uncle Ben's baseball bat?” He shouts gleefully.

 

“Um, it's in my room I think. Why do you need it?” She asks, wiping her hands on the apron. Peter kisses her on the cheek noisily.

 

“Okay,” she says amusedly. “Someone's excited.”

 

“More than ever,” Peter beams.

 

Needless to say, it's the best moment of his life when he smashes the alarm clock. He's just figuring everything will continue as it is when, for the last time, his vision goes black.

 

__

 

He's in the Avengers Centre bathroom. The one where he touched the time stone, and immediately checks his watch. It says 12.:02. Peter's heart sinks. Tony told him he'd be missing real life time, but looks like he won't be. He's just sort of sad he can't tell anyone this because they'll call him crazy.

 

“Peter?” Peter's startled out of his moping session by Friday's voice.

 

“Yeah?” He asks nervously.

 

“Boss, he's back!” She says excitedly.

 

“Okay, what's going on?” Peter says.

 

“Peter, you went out of existence for twenty-four hours,” Friday replies, matter-of-factly. And then Aunt May and Pepper Potts and Tony brust into the bathroom. Aunt May is crying, of course. She hugs him tightly.

 

“Can't breathe,” Peter says, muffled. She breaks from him.

 

“I was so worried, Peter, I went straight to Pepper and we were searching and the wizard turned up and said we'd pretty much lost you-”

 

“Let him breathe May,” Pepper says, a gentle hand on her shoulder and a slight smile on her face. “Welcome back Peter. We've missed you.”

 

“Okay, I need a drink. Or some water,” she says. Pepper leads her out.

 

“We'll join you after medical at the penthouse,” Tony calls after them.

 

“Don't mind if I borrow your minibar,” May calls back.

 

Before he can say anything, Tony moves in to hug him. Now he's been faux hugged by Tony a couple times, and his cologne has kind of registered itself as 'Dad’ in Peter's mind, so Peter feels at ease immediately, and hugs back.

 

“It's good to have you back,” Tony says, ruffling his hair. Peter smiles tiredly.

 

“It's good to be back.”

 

*

 

“In the time loop,” Peter says on their way to Tony's penthouse from the medical, “You said you ignored me to protect me, so what did you mean?”

 

Tony's grip on the wheel tightens slightly, and Peter thinks he's blown it when Tony says, “That's my biggest mistake. I thought I could protect you by staying away, because I thought you were in danger because of me. That's clearly not the case.”

 

“Danger and I are old friends,” Peter says. Tony rolls his eyes.

 

“Haha, very funny.”

 

“I… I thought it was because I called you, ya know, “Dad” when everyone got back,” Peter says, looking down.

 

“It was part of the reason,” Tony replies. Peter thinks he'll just die. He can't believe he made Tony so uncomfortable-

 

“Before we went on that ship, I was talking to Pepper about it,” he says, a little awkwardly. “About having kids. And I'd let myself hope for the first time in a long time, and guess what happened at the end of the day? I lost the closest thing I had to a child.”

 

Peter's eyes widen.

 

“It feels like I'd jinxed your life, Peter, and I didn't feel worthy enough of being called “Dad” by you,” he finishes quietly. Peter feels tears prick his eyes.

 

“Mr Stark, I'm not Mr Thor's hammer,” he chokes out. “And I felt like I was cursed, you know, like every father figure I had always died, and I just figured you didn't want a kid like me.”

 

“That's not true! You're the best kid anyone could have!”

 

They pull up in the basement parking and walk to the lift.

 

“So was that a real hug?” He asks.

 

“Hugs don't count if they're in life or death situations,” Tony says. “But we could have a real one right now.”

 

So Peter grins and hugs him, and Tony hugs him back, and the distinct smell and feeling of 'Dad’ makes Peter feel like maybe the luckiest kid in the world.

 

_

 

“Peter!” Aunt May shouts. “Pepper's here!”

 

When Peter heads out, he sees Pepper Potts, in all her glory, sitting at their tiny dining table, with Aunt May nervously looking on.

 

“I figured you needed a new alarm clock,” she says. Peter's eyes go wide.

 

“Oh, heavens no,” he says. “I'm kinda allergic to them now.”

 

“Well,” she says, fishing in her bag, “I have a feeling you'll like this one.”

 

She tosses him a watch with a grin. “Say hello.”

 

“Um, hello?” Peter asks.

 

“Peter, it's nice to see you again,” Karen says. “I have missed you.”

 

Peter bounds over and hugs Pepper, who almost falls back.

 

“Easy, pal,” she laughs.

 

“You're the _best_!” Peter yells. Pepper smiles and ruffles his hair.

 

“I should get going, but Tony's expecting you in his lab. It's about the suit,” she says, gathering her things.

 

“So,” Aunt May says, once she's left, “You ready to make a kick-ass suit?”

 

Peter grins.

 

“Hell yeah.”

  
  
**F I N.**  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


 

 

 

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**Author's Note:**

> By the way! December 21st is the Winter Solstice, thus the name.
> 
> Leave a comment!


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